Wednesday 30 November 2016

Day 9 - Fun and Sun!

By Lauryn Harrison and Dawson Braine

Coming to you live from Waikiki it's your favourite celebrity band couple, Lauryn and Dawson! We couldn't have asked for a better way to end off our tour, with such an amazing last full day! We started the day off by walking to cheeseburger Hawaii, a local restaurant which accommodated all 150 of us with scrumptious bacon, French toast, eggs, taters and fruit. By 11:00 all three busses had departed for the day. We first stopped at Pali lookout point where we were blown away! Quite literally - since it was sooooooooo windy. All in all, the scenery around us was breathtaking.
Next, we were en route to our next destination: Kualoa secret island. Not a secret anymore!
Even looking out from the bus windows, we could sense what a majestic setting we were about to enter. We hopped on the boats for a serene ride over to the secluded “secret” island.
The fun began almost immediately, after a few simple guidelines for safety were set, of course!
The group dispersed to explore the diverse opportunities that the island encompassed. Band members enjoyed volleyball, badminton, swimming, ping pong, beach games, and more while the chaps relaxed for a change and caught up on some sleep. Which was much needed due to the crazy chap parties that don't stop until 4am. Lunch was served by the great staff, and everyone enjoyed pulled pork, chicken, fruit and vegetables and of course dessert. Fuelled with some energy, we were ready to try the kayaks and SUPs (stand up paddle boards is what's up). Another highlight following lunch was the yoga practice led by sensei Chris Kalil. His beginners beach yoga was enjoyed by many. We found our inner chi and a sense of community.
At 3 o’ clock, the moment had been waiting for had arrived. The BTTB mannequin challenge began. Filmed by Mrs. Linda Yamamoto, this feature presentation will be coming soon to a smugmug browser near you. Considering our practise of standing still for long periods of time, it went tremendously well. We were left with the whole afternoon to continue exploring all the island had to offer. Soon enough, as the sun was beginning to set, it was time for dinner. Again, we were treated with a delicious buffet meal featuring pineapple, chicken and ribs, rice, beans and salad. The end of dinner was the beginning of the ultimate photo shoot. Each section was posed with the tiki trophy awarded to us on Monday night. Mrs. Carroll and Mrs. Yamamoto really pulled through, as always! Scenic views and pastel colours decorated the sky. The evening became even more beautiful as the night arrived. On top of this, everyone had a chance to enjoy a s’more. We couldn't have asked for a “s’more” perfect end to a perfect day. Aloha and Mahalo!

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Day 8 - Dole Plantation/ Polynesian Culture Centre / Luau

By Chris Kalil and Zach Kernick,

We first started off the day by going to the Dole plantation. The ground was muddy from the night before, making it even more challenging  to navigate the worlds largest maze. However we still made it through with our heads held high and proud. The pineapple ice cream was amazing, topped off with actual freshly picked pineapple. It was a taste I never imagined.

Next, we got back on the busses and started to drive towards the Polynesian Cultural centre. As we made our way down the highway the drivers pointed out the beautiful beaches of Hawaii. They were incredible to look at as the giant waves crashed ashore. Then we got to the Polynesian Centre and discovered the multiple wonderful cultures of the Polynesian islands.

After before getting. Traduced to  the different cultures at the displays, we headed out to the dinner area for our evening luau. There we sat and ate traditional Hawaiian cuisine. We even ate taro bread, which pretty much was purple bread. It tasted pretty good though. As we ate we enjoyed the sight of beautiful performers dancing on stage, even inviting  us to dance on stage as well. I think that was a moment we will never forget from this tour.

When we finished dinner we went to a theatre and watched the play “Ha a breath of life”. It's a story about the life of children growing up on the different Polynesian islands, after we enjoyed the dancers and our Polynesian guide Boyd’s fire spinning,  we were presented with a tiki as a trophy for performing in the Waikiki holiday parade to represent all that we have done in Hawaii.

By the time we got home and finished the meeting it was pretty late and we all went straight to bed. Tired but very happy after a wonderful day of sightseeing and participation.

Monday 28 November 2016

Day 7- Pearl Harbor

By: Lauren Zanini,

           The Pearl Harbor performances and memorial were both insightful yet emotional. As the band had an early morning and a long day ahead of them, we all changed into uniform, had breakfast and loaded the buses. Arriving at Pearl Harbor, we got off the buses and prepared for our first performance at the USS Missouri Battleship. Bobbi, a Park Ranger at Pearl Harbor was ecstatic about our arrival and performances, as she had been looking forward to it since the last time we were here. Her memories of the performance five years ago were surpassed by the performances of today. Following the 30 minute stand-still, Bobbi presented us with a flag that has been flown on the USS Missouri as well as a certificate and memorial pins. Next, we took a mass band photograph in front of the ship with our Pearl Harbor survivor Bernie Comito. Our second, and last performance of the day was another tribute performance, at the USS Arizona Visitor’s Centre. Afterwards, lunch was provided, and we were given free time to explore the museum and visit gift shops. Many of us spent our time purchasing souvenir patches and pins, as well as looking through the displays. Following free time, the band was split into two groups to watch an extremely eye-opening film regarding the Pearl Harbor attack. As the memorial film came to an end, we boarded a shuttle boat and made our way to the USS Arizona Memorial. Here, the band was able to look around, and take photos of the sunken ships and the Wall of Valor. The Drum Majors, alongside Bernie Comito were given a wreath to lay in front of the wall, in memory and recognition of all of the fallen soldiers. This was a very moving and emotional experience for all band members, as the realities of the attack were put into perspective. After both groups went through the memorial, we loaded the buses and returned to the hotel. We all attended the last band meeting of the night and were dismissed for dinner and free time. We are all excited for the busy day ahead of us tomorrow!

Saturday 26 November 2016

Day 6 - Kaneohe & Punchbowl Cemetery

     By Bailey Fenton and Priya Vanoosterhout

     The band woke up bright and early this morning for a full breakfast before setting off to Kaneohe Bay. This was the naval air station that Bernie Comito, our Pearl Harbour survivor, was at on the morning of December 7th 1941. We headed over to the base while listening to some of the local history from our bus drivers before entering what is now the Marine Corps Base Hawaii and being shown around by some of the active marines stationed at the base. This was then followed by everyone gathering around and listening to Mr. Comito talk about his experience of the devastating attack and of what happened in his perspective. After this, we left for the Punchbowl Cemetery where we heard of the many men and women who laid down their lives to protect Hawaii and the United States of America. Both of these experiences were particularly eye opening as they gave us a chance to see the impact of the attack on Hawaiian life first hand rather than to simply hear about it in school. This was especially moving as we will be performing at Pearl Harbour tomorrow morning.

    Afterwards, everyone had a few hours of free time which was spent eating food and enjoying the nice weather.  Right before dinnertime, the band met up again to head over to Queen Kapiolani Park where we had a traditional Hawaiian picnic and the opportunity to make friends from other bands. It was an interesting experience as we could compare the differences between the bands while making new international friends.

     Today was a very busy yet meaningful day, full of learning about the significance of the performances we will be partaking in tomorrow, as well as paying our respects at the Arizona memorial to all of those who lost their lives on December 7th 1941.

Day 5 - Waikiki Holiday Parade

By: Laura Idsinga and Dominique Nielsen

Aloha!
Day 5 of the tour and we're still excited! After a nice breakfast (there was pumpkin bread!) we had most of the day off. We had the morning to ourselves to take advantage of the amazing Black Friday shopping deals, or to laze about by the pool or at the beach. Shopping was considerably less scary then the Black Friday horror stories make them out seem, which was honestly quite a relief.

But the evening was down to work, we finally got to experience what we came all the way to Hawaii for. The Waikiki Holiday parade was absolutely phenomenal, and the crowd reception was fabulous. The support from the sides are the parade really helped to make the experience memorable. At one point on the route there was a huge group of supporters with a Canadian flag cheering, and we’re pretty sure every band member stood up a little taller with glowing pride.

With a performance well done we re-walked the streets and once again got to take in how much our presence meant to everyone. When passing the band supporters group we got the biggest applause of all, which reminds us of how we’re so thankful to have such wonderful people following our journey.

It's been a long day and we're all very tired, and we're looking forward to the early morning tomorrow and all the days to come!

Mahalo

Friday 25 November 2016

Day 4 - Free day

By Eliza Kurth, Lindsey Grisé, Riley Cooper, Mallory Jagger

Happy American Thanksgiving! This tour is starting to feel like more of a vacation than anything. Today was another day to recharge and rest before our first performance tomorrow. The day started with an early breakfast. The usual tatertots, eggs, ham, mystery pink bread, and  pog (passion fruit, guava, and orange juice). After breakfast, the day was completely ours. The band basically split in half today. A group of members and chaperones went on a snorkelling trip for a majority of the day. For the rest of the band that stayed, most of us took advantage of the gorgeous Hawaiian weather and stayed outside, whether that was shopping or going to the beach. As for the group of us that went snorkelling, we left pretty much right after breakfast.  We made our way to the city bus which took us all the way to the beautiful reef where we were first subjected to a safety briefing that prompted us to recite their “please don't feed me” jingle for the next hour.  After renting our gear, we  swam with the fish and took lots of cool pictures.  After 2 hours, the group made It’s way back to the bus stop where we admired the wild chickens that happened to be chillin’ around there.  We arrived back at the hotel around 1 and had the rest of the day free.  We joined up with our friends that had stayed behind, some of us heading to the pools, others went shopping.  We all checked in with our chaperones at 4 and then went out for some thanksgiving grub.  Finally at 9 we had our band meeting and the girls steamed their uniforms in prep for the parade tomorrow.  Finally, after another long day in paradise, we all hit the hay so we can get up bright and early for Black Friday shopping tomorrow and then our first performance.

Thursday 24 November 2016

Day 3 - Free Time

 By Sarah DiMatteo and Amy Longley 


Wednesday November 23, 2016

After finally being accustomed to the weather and time change we were very excited to have a free day to enjoy all the amenities the area has to offer! This beautiful sunny day started off with breakfast as a band, we were also joined by Bernie Comito and his wife, Jackie. We look forward to spending time with them and hearing about Bernie's experiences 75 years ago. This morning and throughout the day more bands began to arrive, it's great to mingle with the other bands. After breakfast, a small group of us made the smart decision to do some school work (you're welcome mom). Afterwards, we went down to the beach and in typical Hawaiian fashion there was a sudden rain storm only lasting about 5 minutes. We carefully selected a place to lay in the sun by the ocean and lagoon. We decided to grab a quick and expensive bite to eat at the Pronto Pickle, a restaurant on the hotel property. As it's name suggests, they sold individually packaged pickles for a not so low price of two dollars a piece. Once we finished lunch, the band was given the option to leave property for free time, we decided to explore the Honolulu Zoo. The walk to the zoo was beautiful and hot, but completely worth it. Walking down the streets of Honolulu, offered a great view of the high end shops on the left, and the gorgeous Pacific Ocean on the right. After about 25 minutes of waking and taking in the busy yet laid back environment we arrived at the zoo. In our typical band fashion, we immediately headed for the gift shop to find ourselves some patches, it was a success. The zoo had some very interesting sanctuaries, which included giraffes, elephants, zebras, flamingos, lions and so much more. It was great to experience the stunning view of the animals with diamond head in the background. One of the most enjoyable parts of being on tour is being able to share about the band and our experiences with others. Wearing a maple leaf on our backs attracted lots of vistitors and employees to inquire about the band. Meeting a fellow Canadian was very exciting, especially hearing about his plans to watch us perform in the Waikiki Holiday parade this Friday. All in all, the zoo was a great way to do something different and exciting on our free time. On our way back, we stopped at souvenir shops to browse through the typical Hawaiian attire. The malls were filled with Christmas decorations and Christmas trees which was a weird concept considering it was -5 degrees in Burlington today. After free time was over, we gathered the band together and got ready to go to dinner. The band loaded the buses and went to Bucca di Beppo, an old fashion Italian restaurant. We were served salad, chicken Parmesan, fettuccine Alfredo, spaghetti and brownies, we did not leave hungry. The whole restaurant erupted in applause for the few band members who had birthdays today. After a delicious and fun meal we all loaded the buses to come back to the hotel.  Finally, to end such a fun filled free day we had a few extra hours after the band meeting to hang around the hotel at night. We are so excited for another free day tomorrow and for our performances this weekend. It is always such an honour to remember the reason why we are here and represent the city and our country well!

Wednesday 23 November 2016

Day 2 - Diamond Head / practice / Free day

By Priya Vanoosterhout and Kiara Brunink

Day 2, our first full day in Hawaii, started with breakfast in the Tapa Tower ballroom at 8:30 in the morning. The band members ate a full meal of eggs, tater tots and fruit to prepare themselves for the busy day ahead of them. Soon after breakfast, we departed for Diamond Head bringing cameras and water bottles to prepare for the hard yet scenic climb ahead of us. The climb itself was fairly tiring  considering the full travel day before, however the breathtaking views of the ocean, landscape and of Honolulu truly made the trip worth it. After hiking up some stone trails, going through a sparkling tunnel and climbing what felt like a never ending amount of stairs, reaching the top was a truly amazing experience. Even some band members who had expressed their fear of heights couldn't deny how amazing it was and most band members took this opportunity to take some beautiful pictures with their friends. Going back down to the base of the volcano was considerably easier than going up, but members were still talking about the amazing scenery and many were drinking water as the heat had finally begun to set in. After regrouping with some who had stayed at the base of the volcano, the next stop was a food truck where shaved ice seemed to be the number one pick for most of the hot and sweaty members. After that was the gift shop where patches and pins were available to purchase. Bus by bus, we returned back to the hotel where we found out that we had some freshly made malasadas to snack on before heading out for lunch. Malasadas are a common Hawaiian snack that are typically deep fried and covered in sugar and they definitely were a nice treat after a busy morning. The band then split up for lunch to eat at some of the nice restaurants on the property before meeting up again for a short practice on a nearby field.  The practice was short however the band gained the attention of some people nearby who stayed to watch for a bit before we walked over to a nearby beach in order to record a video of us playing to send back to Jake's Grill and Oyster Bar. The beach recording also gained the interest of people nearby so the band ended up playing some extra tunes for their enjoyment. Soon afterwards, we met up to put away our instruments/flags before splitting up to enjoy a few hours of free time. Everyone then regrouped and walked over to Hard Rock Cafe where we enjoyed the cool setting and live music. After enjoying some good food, we all walked back to the hotel and had a quick meeting to talk about the next day before heading off to bed. It was great first full day in Hawaii and we look forward to the rest of the tour!

Day 1 - Travel Day

By Drum Majors: Lauren Zanini, Josh Lawrence, Luke Marta

    Arriving at the music centre Monday morning at 2:30 am after having just done 3 parades on the weekend, was both exhausting and exciting. All of the band members checked in with their chaperones, and later loaded the buses and left for the airport. The bus ride was cold and dark, however the excitement of everyone was overwhelming. After arriving at the airport, everyone found their luggage and proceeded to the baggage claim section. Once checked in, members were allowed to relax by the gate of our plane, as well as get some breakfast. We boarded our flight to Vancouver at 7:00 am and took off at 8:00 am. The plane was very nice and spacious, with individual TVs that were loaded with movies and games. The majority of the people decided to sleep as we had a long day ahead of us. We landed in Vancouver at 1:00 pm Burlington time, and set our clocks back 3 hours to correspond with Vancouver time. After clearing customs and security, we were given free time for lunch as well as homework and studying. When returning from lunch, we were sent to our gate where we were to spend the next 6 hours of our layover doing homework, relaxing, and spending time with our fellow band members. As missing school was a big deal for many, homework was greatly prioritized. Looking around our gate, one would see lots of exhausted teenagers, big study and homework groups, and very excited friends. As the time slowly passed, we eagerly waited for 5:00 pm, to board the plane and head straight to Honolulu. The second plane was smaller and did not have TVs, but as tired as everyone was, that was not an issue. Once again, many of us either slept, or continued to complete our homework. The trip did not feel real until we landed in Hawaii at 10:00 pm (3 am Burlington time) and were greeted with fresh flower leis. Each band member collected their luggage and loaded the buses to go to our hotel, the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Upon arrival, we filed into a conference room where the tour guides and our instuctors gave us a quick overview of the tour, and handed out our room keys. Next, we headed to our rooms where the bell hops would drop off our luggage. In rooms, we were to unpack our belongings, communicate with our chaperones and get ready to go to bed. As we were all exhausted, it was not difficult to get some rest for the exciting and busy week ahead of us! Aloha from Hawaii, and looking forward to day two!

Click to view tour pictures

Tuesday 15 November 2016

Hawaii 2016 - 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor



Welcome to the 2016 Hawaii Tour Blog!


Each day different band members write about their experiences while on tour in Hawaii and post a link to some of the pictures from the days events.

Due to the large number of pictures our photographers take on a select few will be posted daily (after all they need their rest as well!).  When we return from the tour the photographers will post the remaining pictures for all to view.  You will be able to see this pictures by clicking here

Due to the time difference (5 hours) and tour logistic the BTTB Blog may not be updated the same time every day but we will do our best! So check back often!